Believe Me
by CreeperKiller55
Summary: "-please. They do exist. They're not imaginary." he pauses, "If they are, tell me why I have these clear memories of us together!" Kyle awakes one day to find that his three closest friends never existed.
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

Kyle woke up with a jolt. Rain pelted against his bedroom window, followed by a flash of lightning and crackling thunder. He was relieved to see himself safe and sound in bed, underneath his Terrance and Phillip covers.

"Just a nightmare…" Kyle mumbled to himself, glancing around the room. The ten-year-old tried to remember what his dream was about, but the only thing he could remember was the faces of his three closest friends.

The Jew thought nothing of it and proceeded to go back to slumber. However, a gut-wrenching feeling stayed within his mind.

Oh, how Kyle missed those beloved memories of he and his friends going on adventures and stopping havoc from reeking on their town, South Park. The memories of all those times his archenemy, Eric Cartman, brought him to near-death situations...

Those memories are treasured in Kyle's mind, locked away, they were never let go of. This is because these memories, some of which the whole town had, don't exist.

* * *

It was another day in South Park. The small mountain town had recently witnessed a storm. Of course, storms weren't uncommon in the quiet mountain town, at least snow storms weren't.

Had been a while since the town had a thunderstorm. It was a fairly overlooked event, though.

Fourth grader, Kyle Broflovski went about his usual morning routine. With barely any thought put into any of his actions, the boy soon found himself standing by the bus stop in the midst of rain pouring at a rhythmic pattern on his green ushanka.

"That's weird," he thought. "Stan and Kenny usually get here before I do." Kyle pondered over the thought for a moment. Hopefully they weren't home sick, the four had an in-class project to do. The fourth member of their party being (infamous for killing his father and his wife then feeding them to his half-brother) Eric Cartman.

Kyle stood in the cold rain until one of his other friends, Butters, came up to him and stood along beside him.

"H-Hey, Kyle." Butters greeted cheerfully, yet Kyle could sense a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Oh, hey Butters." Kyle replied. "How come you're here?"

"Wh-What do you mean, Kyle? I always come here."

"No you don't," he replied matter-of-factly. "Stan, Kenny and Cartman do."

Butters gave his friend an inquiring stare.. "Who're Stan, Kenny and Cartman?"

This is the beginning of how Kyle Broflovski started to slowly lose his sanity.


	2. No Trace

_Chapter One: No Trace_

Kyle was taken aback by what Butters said, thinking the blonde boy was pulling his leg. "Dude, it isn't April yet. Save the jokes for then, okay?" he let out a nervous chuckle.

Butters' confusion only increased. "N-No, I'm not joking… are we getting new kids at school or s-something?" he bashed his knuckled together like he always did. Kyle was getting a little frustrated.

"Butters, did you get amnesia overnight or some shit? You know who Stan, Kenny and Cartman are! My super best friend? The school's biggest man-whore? The fatass prick that put your dick in his mouth?" he desperately tried to remind Butters of who these people were.

"K-Kyle, the school doesn't _have_ a man-whore, I don't think anyone put their weiner in my mouth… and _I'm_ your best friend." Butters' look of confusion turned into one of concern.

The ginger was honestly more worried about Butters being his best friend more than anything else, in the sense that Stan was missing, of course.

"Y'know what, we'll talk later." Kyle brushed off the subject for now and boarded the school bus. Once he was inside and was looking for a seat, the Jew noticed that Wendy was sitting with Token rather than Bebe or Stan. The latter being absent at the moment.

From the lack of any other seat, he sat with Butters, which was awkward considering the little outburst he had at the bus stop.

Throughout the duration of the whole ride, not once did anyone ask each other or Kyle for that matter, about the three boys plaguing Kyle's thoughts.

* * *

"Alright children, let's take our seats…" Mr. Garrison drawled as he set down a couple of textbooks onto his desk.

During class Kyle simply could not pay attention. His thoughts kept wandering to everyone's expressions, what they were doing… nothing felt right without Cartman around to interrupt class.

The 'day-walker' might have heard Mr. Garrison tell Clyde to pass out papers or something but he wasn't sure. When Clyde came to him though, he decided to interrogate him.

"Clyde, where the fuck is Cartman?" Kyle wondered why he asked about Cartman first, but brushed it off.

"Who the hell is Cartman?" Clyde replied monotonously and continued passing papers, leaving behind a flabbergasted Kyle.

Lunch wasn't any different either. When he asked about his three friends, everyone's response was either "who're they?" or "are we getting new kids?". But Kyle only asked the boys, he didn't get to the girls. Kyle figured that Wendy would be the best person to ask first, so he did.

"Hey Wendy," said person turned away from her friends to face Kyle. The other girls listened to what he had to say. "have you seen Stan anywhere at all?" he asked casually.

"Stan? Sorry, I don't know anyone named Stan."

"How can you not? You guys have been together since third grade!"

"Kyle, I've been with _Token_ since third grade. Everyone knows that." the noirette replied haughtily and turned back to the gossip her friends were sharing.

With a lack of confidence or energy, Kyle retreated back to the table of guys where Butters greeted him with a smile.

"Hi Kyle!" Butters was always so upbeat.

"Hi Butters…" Kyle replied with a sad tone.

"What's up with you?" Craig asked in his usual monotone.

"Nothing." he replied grimly.

"Dude, you've been asking around… about what?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon, Kyle. You can tell me. I'm your best friend!" Butters said with a friendly grin

Kyle cringed at the words 'best friend.' They reminded him of the disappearances. "I've been asking if anyone had any change I could borrow for lunch." He lied.

"Oh. Well why didn't you say so? I can give you some…"

"That's fine, dude…" Kyle spent the rest of the day sulking. Until he realized that he could go and ask their parents if their sons existed or not. He waited patiently until the final bell rang.

 **A/N:** **By the way, if you haven't realized yet, none of the characters are aged up, or any weird shit like that...**


	3. Imaginary Friends

_Chapter Two: Imaginary Friends_

Seconds ticked away, each one slower than the last. When the final bell rang, everyone was excited to go home and rest. But Kyle had an important task he needed to complete. He had planned to go visit Stan, Cartman and Kenny's parents and ask them if they've ever seen said children before.

By now, Kyle was desperate for an answer and tried to convince himself that everyone in the school was a complete amnesiac and the three boys were just sick or something.

"Yeah…" he mumbled to himself, smiling a bit. He honestly missed having them around. Including the fat ass. Which was hard for him to think about.

Kyle soon found his way to the Marsh's residence and rang the door bell. He was excited to see his Super Best Friend again.

The door was answered by a pissed-off looking Shelly. "What do you want turd?!" she screamed.

"Uh, h-have you seen Stan anywhere by any chance?" Kyle stuttered, frightened by the elder.

"I don't know any turds named Stan."

"Well, can I talk to Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, please?" he began to lose hope.

"Fine. MOM, DAD! SOME TURD WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" with that, Shelly walked off.

Randy and Sharon came to the door to see who was there. "Oh. You're the Broflovski's kid, right?" Randy said.

"Yeah. I just came here to ask you if you had a son…" Kyle mentally facepalmed.

Sharon raised an eyebrow. "Er, no. We don't have a son. Shelly is our only child."

"Do you know anyone named Stan by any chance?"

"Sorry, kid. You must have the wrong house." Randy replied.

Kyle's face fell. "Oh. Thanks anyway…" the door shut and Kyle was left alone on the doorstep, soaking in the rain.

Next was Cartman's house which was closer to Stan's than Kenny's was. Kyle had a feeling festering the back of his mind that neither Eric nor Kenny would be home. But he had to try anyway, at least, that's what he thought.

Soon enough, he came to the house. By this point, Kyle was completely drenched with rain water. He didn't care. He himself did not know why he was trying so hard to find out where his friends went. Unless they don't exist.

"No, Kyle! Don't think that…" tears welled up in his eyes a bit. Did he really miss them so much that he was beginning to gain Stan's emotional capacity?

Basically meaning that he was being a pussy.

After a few minutes of standing outside the door of, most likely, Ms. Cartman's house. As soon as Kyle knocked, he expected Eric's fat voice to yell, "MEHM! GET THE FUCKING DOOR!" or something like that. He did not hear it.

When the door opened, it took a moment for Liane to realize where Kyle was. "Oh, you poor thing. Please come inside from the rain and have some hot cocoa." she exclaimed. The boy was grateful.

Kyle sat on the all-too familiar couch with a blanket draped around him and a mug of hot cocoa in his hands.

"So, young man, is there something you need?" Liane asked brightly.

Kyle didn't look up from the marbling of the cream inside the ceramic mug. "Yeah, actually… um, I was wondering if you know anyone if your family named Eric Cartman?"

Liane paused for a moment to think. "...no, I don't believe so. I don't recognize the name Eric either."

"Oh…" almost all hope was shattered. "do you have a son?" he asked right away, once again mentally slapping himself.

"A son? Heavens no! With my job, if I had a child I simply wouldn't be able to take care of it."

Kyle flinched a little at the harsh words. Sure, Cartman was a pain in the ass but they could manage.

"Oh. Alright…" as Kyle sipped his beverage, he tried to remember Eric's father's name. What was it…? Jacob Tennison? Jack… yeah. Something to do with a saxophone… Jack Tenorman!

"Do you know anyone named Jack Tenorman?"

Liane thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, yes. I do know a Jack Tenorman."

"The Drunken Barn Dance?" Kyle pushed forward.

"We met at the Drunken Barn Dance, and I believe we almost had intercourse."

"Almost?" Kyle exclaimed.

"Yes, almost. Though if I had a son, I _would_ name him Eric… it's a good name for a good boy. Maybe I should have a son."

"With Jack Tenorman?"

"I don't think so. He seemed a bit like an asshole."

Kyle sighed, his attempts of bringing an Eric Cartman into existence failing. Or to be more factual, an Eric Tenorman into existence. By this time, Kyle had completely finished his drink and was ready to leave and head to the bad side of town.

He thanked Ms. Cartman for the cocoa and shelter. He was on his way to the McCormicks's household.

The Jew knocked on the rickety door lightly. It was answered by Carol McCormick.

"Oh, hello there." she greeted politely.

"Excuse me, ma'am but I just wanted to ask you if you know anyone named Kenny McCormick in your family?"

"Kenny?" Carol gave a look of confusion but replied. "No. We don't have anyone in our family named Kenny."

"Well, how many children do you have?" Kyle was honestly surprised that no one accused him of asking these questions.

"I have two children, my precious little Kevin and Karen…" she smiled admiringly.

"Oh. So no Kenny?"

"Sorry, little boy."

Kyle sighed and said goodbye to Mrs. McCormick. He heard yelling and shouting coming from within the walls of the house as he returned home, the rain still pouring.


	4. Wedged Between Acceptance and Denial

**A/N: People seem to enjoy this story. Though I realize that Cartman might've been a better decision for the part of the insane protagonist. But whatever, what's done is done.**

 _Chapter Three: Wedged Between Acceptance and Denial_

Kyle slowly trudged home. He did not care about his soggy clothes sticking to his skin, he did not care about anything… his friends were gone. Just, _gone._ Everyone in the goddamn town didn't know who Stan, Eric and Kenny were.

Was he mad at the people? Yes, a little. Did he believe that they were out there somewhere…? No. They aren't there. Those three boys aren't real and they never _were_ real.

Did Kyle just imagine them? Is he that much of a schizo? And he thought Tweek was insane…

He opened the door to his home and stepped inside. He saw his little brother and father on the couch and his mother in the kitchen doing the dishes, presumably.

As quietly as possible, he made his way upstairs. Kyle peeled off his orange jacket and green pants and took a quick shower.

When he came back downstairs, he was scolded by Sheila for coming home late. He promptly ignored her and silently ate his dinner. When Gerald asked him what was wrong he replied simply saying that something happened at school.

When Ike asked though, Kyle replied saying he'd tell the Canadian later.

Later, "They're gone, Ike! _Gone_!" Kyle screamed. Not too loud, though. If that were even possible.

"Who's gone?" Ike questioned, worried for his older sibling.

"Ike, do you know who Stan is?!" Kyle grabbed his brother by the shoulders.

"N-No." Ike had a worried look on his face.

"Aw, no, no, no, no…" Kyle walked away a bit, turning his back toward the toddler. "What about Cartman? Eric Cartman? The fatass?"

"No."

"K-Kenny?" Kyle was nearly in tears.

Ike began to wonder if he should answer. But he did anyway, "...No…" all was silent. Kyle emerald green eyes were welled up with tears and Ike simply didn't know why.

"Oh…" was all that came from his mouth. It was barely audible. Kyle straightened up and walked out of the room to his own. Leaving behind a very concerned Ike.

* * *

Next day was all the same.

Kyle rummaged madly through his closet when he came back home, desperately trying to find his memory box. The box that held many, many photos of the four of them at birthday parties, when they were younger, et cetera.

The picture on his nightstand of him and Stan wasn't there anymore, instead it was a photo of him and Butters.

His mind cleared up a little when he finally found the box. When he opened it up, there was nothing but a single photograph.

Kyle couldn't believe his eyes. _This picture…_ he thought, staring at the red numbers on the bottom corner of the picture. _This was taken two days ago._

"Boys, it's time for dinner!" Sheila's shrill voice interrupted Kyle's thoughts. He spent another few minutes staring at the colored photograph.

The moment captured showed Stan and Cartman playing a videogame, which he remembered was Call of Duty, while Kyle was yelling at Cartman for cheating while the fatass in turn, hollered at Kyle for protecting his 'boyfriend'. Stan was trying to concentrate on the game while Kenny sat on the carpet, watching the events fold out.

Kyle put the picture into his coat pocket and went downstairs for dinner. A few minutes into the meal, he tried to spark up a conversation.

"So, I was looking through my memory box and uh, I found this." he put down his fork and showed the photograph to his family.

"That's nice, Kyle. Are those your friends from school?" Sheila said.

"I don't recognize them. Were they new?" Gerald asked, observing the image.

"Is that who you were talking about?" Ike asked.

"Yeah, Ike. And no, these three were in South Park Elementary since were in kindergarten." Kyle stared at the photo.

"Really? How come you've never brought them over? We'd love to meet them."

"That's because no one knows who they are…" Kyle said quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What do you mean, son?"

The redhead sighed. "This is Stan," he pointed to the boy wearing the red poofball hat. "his parents are Mr. and Mrs. Marsh." Kyle moved his finger to the chubby boy sitting next to Stan. "That's Cartman. We call him by his last name instead of his first, which is Eric. He killed his dad trying to get back at his half-brother." his family listened, quite intrigued.

"There's Kenny McCormick. He's the poorest kid in South Park and he never takes off his hood." Kyle finished with a sad tone.

"I don't recall Randy ever having a son." Gerald said.

"I don't think Liane ever got pregnant before either." Sheila added.

The two were a bit worried about their eldest son and decided to question further. "Are you sure that they're in you class, Kyle?"

"Yes, I'm sure… Mr. Garrison won't tell you anything, though…"

"Why not?"

"He thinks Stan, Cartman and Kenny don't exist either…"

The mother and father shared looks of worry. "Have you ever met them, Ike?"

"No…" he replied.

"Yes you have!" Kyle whined back, "It was Monday, you tried following me to school, Cartman called you a dildo, I kicked you and then you got abducted by aliens who put an anal probe in Cartman's fat asshole!"

"Is that true Ike?" Sheila looked at the four-year-old.

"No!" Ike exclaimed. Kyle suddenly screamed in frustration and ran upstairs, locking himself in his room.


	5. A Conversation of Sorts

_Chapter Four: A Conversation of Sorts_

Kyle didn't act right anymore. This was something almost everyone at school noticed, especially Butters and Wendy.

He refused to sit with anyone at lunch, instead he would up and disappear somewhere. After school, he would linger in class mumbling under his breath.

Butters grew worried and one day, lingered with Kyle.

All of the students left the fourth grade classroom the second the dismissal bell rang, as per usual, Kyle remained in his seat. Butters stayed with him, two seats away.

Upon closer inspection, the Jew seemed to be staring at a piece of paper or something underneath the desk.

The item was grasped tightly in his gloved hands. Butters moved closer to get a better view. The item was a photograph. Kyle barely noticed him walk up next to him.

"H-Hey, Kyle." he started. "Whatcha lookin' at?" the daywalker jumped a little, pulling the memoir close to his orange coat.

"O-Oh… hi, Butters." his expression was unchanging.

"What's that?" he leaned in closer to try and get a better view.

"This? It's just a old photo, that's all…" he went back to staring at it.

"Who're they?" Butters asked innocently.

"...old friends…"

Butters did not recognize the kids in the picture. Maybe they're from another school?

"Kyle, I'm worried about you… y-you never hang out with us anymore."

"Us?"

"Me, Clyde and C-Craig."

"Oh. Sorry." there was another moment of silence. "Well, I've gotta go." Kyle stood up and gathered his things.

"W-Well, uh, see ya tomorrow!" Butters waved cheerfully. Kyle swiftly and briskly left the classroom. The blonde was left wondering.


	6. Confrontation

_Chapter Five: Confrontation_

Butters jumped as high as he could to ring the doorbell of the Broflovski home, he barely managed to get to it. It was answered by Sheila.

"Hello, Leopold." she said, using the boy's real name.

"H-Hi, Mrs. Broflovski. Uh, I just came here to tell you somethin' about Kyle…" he bashed his knuckles together nervously.

"Oh, what is it?" she says kindly.

"Um, he's been acting pretty w-weird lately. Uh, he always talks about these fellers names u-uh," Butters pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Stan, Cartman and Kenny."

"I believe he was talking about them before during dinner, as well."

"B-But thing is, uh, I don't think they're real…"

"I'm sure they're just friends from out of town and he's just pretending they're here with him."

"Kyle seemed real intent. S-Saying that they live here, in South Park…"

"Oh. Is that so?" Sheila said worriedly.

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention, Leopold."

"Y-You're welcome!" Butters smiled and skipped home.

* * *

During dinner, Kyle picked at his food. Sheila noticed this and tried to start conversation. "So Kyle, your friend Leopold came over today…" she started.

"Yeah?"

"He told me about how you've been acting in school lately,"

"Did he?"

"He said you acted… alienated, let's say."

Kyle seemed to take note of things more. "M-hm."

"I was thinking, bubbie. For your own health we're going to a therapy session tomorrow."

"What?!" Kyle shrieked.

"What?" Gerald exclaims.

"It's for your own good, bubblah."


	7. Therapy

_Chapter Six: Therapy_

Kyle didn't protest much at the idea of going to a therapy session. He didn't see a point in arguing anyway. So he sat silently while he and his mother drove to Hell's Pass.

The photograph was still in his jacket pocket, slightly crumpled, but more or less fine.

Kyle was sent into the psychiatrist's room alone. He didn't see the need for any psychological treatment. He was fine, everyone else just had amnesia. Very severe and oddly specific amnesia.

He was laid down on a black sofa, pretty stereotypical therapist's office.

"Alright, Kyle I'm just going to ask you a few questions and all I ask is for you to answer honestly, okay?"

"Sure."

She clicked her pen and prepared to write down anything he said. "Can you tell me exactly what has been happening in terms of your… condition?"

"I don't have a condition, all that's been happening is no one in this damn town knows who my friends since pre-K are." he replied angrily.

"Hm… I see." she jotted down a few words on her notepad. "Can you describe what your friends look like?"

"One of them is a total fatass. He wears this red coat that barely fits him and a yellow poofball hat. The other wears a brown jacket and a red poofball hat. The last one always wears an orange parka with the hood on." Kyle wasn't exactly ready to tell this person their names.

Then there was this question, "Do they have names?"

"Yes." he paused. "Eric, Stan and Kenny. Respectively."

"So, they don't have any last names?"

"Of course they do. Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick…" the names felt foreign.

The woman was slightly surprised. Usually descriptions weren't this detailed. "Do your friends ever say anything weird to you?"

"Weird how?"

"As in, they try to get you to do things you don't want to?"

Kyle looked at her with a shocked expression. "What? No!" he exclaimed.

After a few more seconds of silence, she spoke again. "I'm sorry, Kyle, but you have schizophrenia."

Kyle was speechless. "What kind of psychiatrist are you?!"

"Listen, kid, I'm just doing my job. If you have proof that your imaginary friends exist, I will reconsider."

His eyes lit up. The Jew pulled out the picture and shoved it in her face. "Look!"

"Interesting… but this is impossible. There is no way." she pushed his hand back.

"There is a way! There's this fucked up town called South Park, it's where we live. That goddamn town can spew out the most fucked up shit you've ever seen…!"

"No need to swear at me. Our session is over, anyway."

"Alternate realities are a possibility!" Kyle screamed as he walked out.


	8. Epilogue

_Epilogue_  
 _Two weeks after previous events_

It had only been two weeks and Kyle was already losing it. His therapist was a jerk because, well, it's South Park and he had recently gotten the photograph of his friends taken away.

He was beginning to forget what they looked like. Which was bad. _Really_ bad.

Eventually, he abandoned the idea of begging his mother for the picture. There was really no point, he had already forgotten everything.

Who were they again? Sam? Ethan? Keith? Something like that. Kyle was slowly moving on from his imaginary friends, slowly but surely.

Currently, Kyle sat at his bed, doing homework. All the while, thinking about the three people who changed his life.

Kyle previously wondered if these characters represented something. He remembered that one was pretty loyal, stupid at times, but loyal. A good friend. A _best_ friend. The other was the complete opposite. He would never abide by the rules, did everything to make everyone annoyed. He sounds like a smart ass.

Finally, there was that one guy who kept saying that he could never die? Weird. Kyle thought he represented… the borderline between good and bad.

So there was the good, the bad and the one between. Then there was Kyle. The creator.


End file.
